Table 3

Absolute frequencies, outcome prevalences, exposure prevalences, crude and pooled prevalence ratio (PR) estimates, and relative confounding for the analysis of the original data using asthma as the outcome, maternal smoking as the risk factor and social class as confounder (situation 2 original).

First stratum: High social class


Asthma
No
All





N
Prev.
N
N
Exp. prev. = 26.6%




Mother smokes
37
25.7%
107
144
PR = 1.19
No
86
21.6%
312
398
M-H weight = 22.85
All
123
22.7%
419
542


Second stratum: Low social class


Asthma
No
All





N
Prev.
N
N
Exp. prev. = 43.3%




Mother smokes
122
42.8%
163
285
PR = 1.24
No
129
34.6%
244
373
M-H weight = 55.87
All
251
38.1%
407
658


Combined strata: High and low social class


Asthma

No
All
Exp. prev. = 35.8%




N
Prev.
N
N
PR (crude) = 1.33




Mother smokes
159
37.1%
270
429
PR (M-H) = 1.22
No
215
27.9%
556
771
Confounding = -7.9%
All
374
31.2%
826
1200
P-value(het)*= 0.8

* P-value for testing heterogeneity of the prevalence ratios across strata.

Barros and Hirakata BMC Medical Research Methodology 2003 3:21   doi:10.1186/1471-2288-3-21